Tokus Numas (17 page)

“These young men, chosen to be among us, begin their journey. We, their brothers, will pour our wisdom into them as our brothers before us did, and we shall share our world, our thoughts, our ways,” Vetus Sepher said.

“Let us all be as brothers,” the men chanted.

Vetus Sepher motioned to the new recruits to turn around. They did, and a fire rose from the center of the pool, the flames bright against their faces. Petro could feel the warmth and how it caressed his skin, letting him know it was alive.

“As with this fire, your old life is purified, and your new life begins,” Vetus Sepher said.

All the men said, “Let it be.”

The flames danced across all their faces, shadows behind them wavered, and Petro could hear the beat of his heart. The torch lights among the Numas had begun to fade out little by little until the dark surrounded Petro and the others once more. The fire had died down yet was not completely gone. The young recruits stared at the remains of the flames, and the dark pool of water reflected their images. Petro thought he seemed different, like he’d changed; there were no words to explain—it was an understanding within.

Vetus Sepher walked around the recruits and spoke. “This is where your new life begins. You are on a journey, and all of you will take it together. You may feel alone at times, but remember that none can truly go it alone, so do not make the mistake of trying to conquer whatever it is that plagues you on your own. This is your brotherhood, and all that is in your heart can be spoken to another in confidence. Rest assured, we are in it together. And as you make this journey, you may question our ways and wonder if you belong, and I will tell you that every one of us has been where you are now. Gather yourselves; we travel at once.”

One by one they formed into a line and followed Vetus Sepher down a lit path, headed in a different direction than they’d come from. They snaked uphill and downhill, traveling for a while until they reached a door made of stone. Vetus Sepher pressed upon a cipher lock, inputting a code, and the door opened. It was a huge slab of rock, and one would have thought it would make a loud grumbling as it opened, but it did not; it was smooth and quiet, and only the slight hum of hidden motors could be heard as the massive door moved. Outside it was the white night. Petro thought it was closer to midday, but he was wrong. They’d lost time being under the surface, not following the sun and the time of day. Out into the open they went, lining up on a large path covered in dirt and pebbles. Petro looked it over, studying it, asking himself how many others had come this way before and how many others were a part of this brotherhood. When the torch lights appeared, the chamber boasted hundreds of Numas.
There must be more, many more. But how many? And what do they do? They speak of not being seen; why?

The recruits hiked along the trail out in the wild. They could see the mountains across the valley that lay below, shrouded in leafless trees. They looked at a body of water down in the valley. The surface looked gray-white like the light that surrounded them. Petro took in a deep breath, feeling the cool air down in his lungs. He looked up at the peaks above, covered in snow—it added to the world of white.
Food must be scarce here
, he thought. Where would they get it? Hunting was surely one way, and fishing was probably another; but what about fruits and vegetables? None of the food Dugual received was from this region; most of their vegetables came from the Far East, where the lands were full of rich nutrients. Petro slowed his breathing, and his head began to ache a little.

The hike took what seemed to be hours, longer than Petro had expected. It was now the third day since Petro and Kad had eaten anything and his thirst had returned, though he was grateful for the water earlier. He was nearing exhaustion; his body was beginning to shut down. He stopped and sat on the ground, taking in shallow breaths. He felt strange, light-headed, and the world around him swirled.

“Get up! We can’t stop,” Kad said. “You’re OK. Keep moving.”

Petro got up, and his legs felt like he was dragging them along with each step he took. “This doesn’t feel like training; it’s more like torture,” he said and mustered a brief smile. Kad was next to him, helping him along. He felt better after about a half a click, and then the path came to an end down in the valley. Vetus Sepher motioned to them to stay, and then he slipped away behind a thicket of bushes. They all waited, standing there, and then one by one they sat down. Vetus Sepher was back sooner than they had expected, and the recruits were back on their feet. He led them into the bushes and into another secret passage. They entered through the doorway, heard it shut behind them, and then the locks fell into place.

Concern has grown in the realm about Petro and the prophecy. There are possibilities of someone making an attempt on his life as word spreads from royal to royal and commoner to commoner. Take extra precautions, and report any suspicious activities to Dugual.

—From
Electronic Message from Dugual’s Security Detail to the Numas
, by Leader Gull

T
hey entered a tunnel lit with torches, and the group continued on until they came to another door. Petro watched as Vetus Sepher punched in the cipher code, and the door opened. It was a thick door, made from steel, but there was not one sound when it opened. The group continued through the door, and it shut behind them as they made their way down a slope; and then the path turned to the right and spiraled down, going deeper into the mountain. When they got to the bottom, it opened up into a larger hall, with a low-lying ceiling. It was brighter in here, and electrical lights hung from the top and shone down on them.

Petro fanned out to the right and walked beside Kad. They noticed a small vehicle with four wheels and a flatbed on the back. It looked it was used to transport items within the mountain. He spotted another contraption, but it was no vehicle, more of a loader, with a fork lift on its front. Petro had seen these used sometimes in Dugual, but there were few of them, as it was thought people needed to work, and therefore everyone needed a job.

The hall stretched out to nearly the length of five wagons before it came to three openings. They all looked identical—no special markings to tell them what direction to go. Vetus Sepher slowed, came to a stop, and turned to face the group.

“On my right will be your bedchambers. In the middle, here, is where you will shower, eat, and clean. On my left is for the Vetuses; and from this point on, when you encounter one of us, you may refer to us as Vetus. When we speak to you it’s, ‘Yes, Vetus’ or ‘No, Vetus.’ Do not speak out of turn.”

Jon interrupted. “How will we know when we’re out of turn…Vetus?”

Vetus Sepher pointed to the ground. “Give me twenty.”

Jon curled his lips in, dropped to the floor, and started to do twenty push-ups.

“Do more listening than talking, and you’ll figure out what is expected of you. We are not here to hold your hands. We are here to put you through training, to get you prepared for the task at hand.” He paused. Short glances went to Jon on the floor, who was breathing a little heavier now. “All right. Form up into a line, two by two. Your task is to assign your own quarters to yourselves. If you have questions, figure it out.” And with that, Vetus Sepher moved through the opening on his right.

Jon grunted out his last push-up, got up, and brushed his hands off. “All right. Let’s go.”

No one moved. The guys were all standing two by two except for Jon. Who with some reluctance got into line with the rest of them. Petro and Kad led the way through the opening on the left.

There were rooms off to the sides of the hall. Petro stopped at the first one, poked his head inside, and then turned to the others. “Looks like this one fits two. Who wants it?”

The young recruits looked around at one another. Petro could see it would be easier if he just told them which room to take. “OK, why don’t Jon and Bran take this one?” The two young men looked at each other.

“Sure. Why not, wardo?” Jon said and walked into the room. Bran followed.

Petro ignored Jon and led the remaining group down the hall to another room on the left. “Who wants this one?” Nalum raised his hand, and so did Sha. “All right, I guess that leaves you and me, Kad.”

Nalum and Sha went into their room.

Petro and Kad went down the hall a few more paces to a room on the right. They walked inside. There were two bunks, one on the left and one on the right. There wasn’t much space between them, maybe enough for two people to stand side by side. At the foot of the bed against the far wall was a locker, chiseled out from the stone of the ground. On the opposite end was another locker chiseled out of the stone. The lockers were bare and clean except for a thin layer of dust. Petro ran his finger through it and sniffed it. “Smells damp.”

“It’s from natural springs and runoff in the ground. I can feel the air is thicker,” Kad said as he sat down on his bunk. “Umm…this is not comfortable.” He bounced up and down on the bunk, which did not have much give. He got up lifted the mattress to find solid stone underneath. “I can see why now.”

Petro chuckled. “I don’t think comfort was the number-one priority.”

Kad leaned back on the bed and stretched out. “Are you sure? Actually, this really feels good on my back. I mean—try it.”

Petro wasn’t sure if Kad was being serious or playing around. He stretched out and leaned back on the bunk. “Yeah, feels terrific.” It did not feel terrific; it felt more like he was lying directly on a rock. “So what do you think is next?”

Kad propped himself up on one elbow. “I don’t know. Could be anything, I guess. Though I would really like to eat. My stomach is a little angry.” A grumbling sound came from Kad’s stomach. “See? That’s anger.”

“I could eat a whole deerling right now.” Petro licked his lips.

Kad sat up and leaned forward. “I don’t think they’re going to feed us.”

Petro sat up, too. “Why’s that?” He watched Kad intently.

“Because we are still being tested, as you said before. It’s all a test. Mixing those guys in with us is a test, too.”

Petro scratched his head. “How so? I’m not following.”

“Well, you heard how they were picked, right?” Kad said.

“Yeah, same way we were picked.” Petro’s face scrunched up, and his nose crinkled.

“Umm, no. We were picked because we were trying to find something out. But those guys weren’t trying to find anything out. They were rummaging around to see what they could pocket. At least a few of them were. I’m not clear on Sha, and I’m not sure how he got picked.”

“I don’t know. Does it matter?” Petro said lowering his voice and eyeing the doorway.

Kad lowered his voice, too. “Of course it matters. For some reason those guys were thrown in with us, and it’s because the Numas are watching us more closely. Why? I don’t know, really. I mean, I know we were picked for a different reason, but I don’t know why the Numas are watching us more closely, only that it does matter, at least to them; and we should be at least aware of it.”

The thought came into Petro’s mind that the reason was because of him. If Kad was right—and it did seem plausible enough—the Numas were watching to see how Petro would interact with these other recruits, but why? He didn’t know that answer just as Kad didn’t know why the Numas were watching them.

“Well, if they are watching us, then we’ll need make sure we don’t mess up,” Petro said.

There was a knock on the door. Vetus Mont stood there. They two recruits stood.

“Yes, Vetus?” Petro and Kad said simultaneously.

“You and the others need to join us in the staging area, the place where you all came through earlier, just before the three openings,” said Vetus Mont.

“Yes, Vetus.”

Vetus Mont left, and Petro and Kad went to gather the other recruits.

Kad nudged Petro in the side as they moved out into the hall. “See what I mean?”

Petro glanced over at Kad and nodded. He knew what he meant, or he thought he did, with Vetus Mont coming to them to gather up the others.

Their first stop was at Nalum and Sha’s room. Petro knocked and poked his head inside. No one was there. “Let’s check Jon and Bran’s room.” They carried on down the corridor and stopped at the first room. Petro knocked and poked his head inside. No one.

Kad looked into the room, too. “Where’d they go?”

Petro scanned the room once more to be certain, paused a brief moment in thought, and then scurried down the hall toward the staging area. “I don’t know where they went,” he said, glancing over at Kad. “Maybe they are in the staging area, waiting for us.”

The two picked up pace; their legs moved briskly across the stone floor with their arms swinging back and forth. When they got to the staging area, only Vetus Mont was standing there.

“So, I see you two have made it. Where are the others?” Vetus Mont said.

“We don’t know—” Petro was cut off.

“You don’t know? Both of you drop.” Vetus Mont ran his hand over his bald scalp and over his tusk of hair, which ran down his side past his shoulder.

“What?” Petro said. Kad yanked on Petro’s sleeve and proceeded to drop to the ground in a push-up position. Petro reluctantly followed.

“Push until I say stop.” Vetus Mont paced the floor in front of them, his hands clasped behind him.

The two began to push.

“Up, down, up down, up down…Good, you’re getting the hang of it. Keep that pace as long as you can,” Vetus Mont said in a monotone voice.

Up, down, up, down the two pushed in sync with each other. Petro’s face reddened. He’d looked for the others, but they had left. What was he supposed to do? Search the entire underground tunnels? He had no idea to what extent these tunnels traveled, and it would make it near impossible to find the others.

Up and down, up and down they pushed, but they were now out of sync. Petro’s midsection was bending downward as he struggled to keep his body straight. Kad was doing better; he was pushing and seemed to be right at home. Petro’s muscles ached, and his arms trembled as they tried to carry out Vetus Mont’s command.

“On your backs, kick your legs out, hold them for thirty seconds, lower them to fifteen centimeters, and then raise them to thirty centimeters; and do this until I tell you to stop,” Vetus Mont said.

Petro and Kad kicked their legs out and began the new exercise. Up, hold; down, hold; up, hold; down, hold; and on and on. The muscles in their legs asked for mercy, but the two would not give in; they kept going as much as they could until their legs shook uncontrollably.

Vetus Mont watched them—his ever-present gaze did not allow them any shortcomings.

Sweat ran down the sides of their faces and soaked their tunics at the neck. In that moment, Vetus Sepher waltzed into the area, and behind him were Jon, Bran, Nalum, and Sha. Petro saw them through the slits of his eyes as he bore down hard to keep his feet elevated.

“Ah, I see you’ve brought the others,” Vetus Mont said to Vetus Sepher. He turned to the Petro and Kad. “You may get up.”

Petro dropped his feet, and so did Kad. They let out a sigh of relief and slowly worked their way upward to stand. Petro noticed that the other recruits were holding what appeared to be a set of clothes, towels, a blanket, a pillow, and a pair of leather boots.

“You two need to go down through the right corridor there and get your things. Vetus Markton will help you. Once you are finished, you’ll find a jug of water in your room. Share it. Tomorrow we all head out in search of our meal.”

Are you joking?
Petro thought. “We haven’t eaten in days!” he said.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Vetus Mont shook his head. “Kad, go on. I think Petro and I will be a while longer.” He turned to Petro. “Drop and push until I tell you to stop.”

Petro got down into a push-up position. He looked up and watched Vetus Sepher and the others leave the area, and he saw Kad look over his shoulder while he made his way down the corridor on the right. Once they were all gone, he started to push again.